Penn State wrestling will have six of its ten starters competing in Big Ten Championship matches Sunday evening in Evanston, Illinois.
Luke Lilledahl (125), Tyler Kasak (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174), Carter Starocci (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (heavyweight) are all one win away from a Big Ten title.
Penn State sent nine of its 10 competitors to the semifinal round, and six of them came out on top.
Top seeds Beau Bartlett (141) and Shayne Van Ness (149) were upset by Minnesota’s Vance VomBaur and Illinois’ Kannon Webster, respectively. At 197, No. 2 Josh Barr lost a heartbreaker in sudden victory, 4-1 to Michigan’s Jacob Cardenas.
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS
So here’s a full rundown of Sunday’s championship bouts that feature Penn State wrestling starters.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.125: Luke Lilledahl vs. Smith (NEB)
157: Tyler Kasak vs. Brandon Cannon (OSU)
165: Mitchell Mesenbrink vs. Mikey Caliendo (Iowa)
174: Levi Haines vs. Lenny Pinto (Nebraska)
184: Carter Starocci vs. Mac McEnelly (Minnesota )
Heavyweight: Greg Kerkvliet vs. Gable Steveson (Minnesota).
In the regular season, Lilledahl gutted out a 4-2 decision over Smith. Kasak and Cannon didn’t wrestle since Kasak was injured for last month’s Penn State-Ohio State dual meet. Mesenbrink is 4-0 lifetime against Caliendo with two of those wins being via tech fall and another via major decision. Haines took care of Pinto, 9-2 earlier this season. Starocci has never wrestled McEnelly, a redshirt freshman who’s 20-0. Kerkvliet is 0-2 against Steveson but hasn’t faced him since the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
TEAM STANDINGS
Here are the team standings through the semifinal round.
- Penn State – 145.0
- Nebraska – 118.5
- Iowa – 98.0
- Minnesota – 88.5
- Illinois – 81.5
- Ohio State – 76.0
- Michigan – 56.0
- Maryland – 47.5
- Rutgers – 46.0
- Purdue – 33.5
- Indiana – 27.0
- Northwestern – 18.5
- Wisconsin – 13.5
- Michigan State – 11.5
Sunday’s festivities will begin at 1 ET with the consolation round. The championship round is scheduled to begin at 5:30.
